HORTSCIENCE 46(6):955–957. 2011. lat. 40 28#59$ N; elevation 98 m). Data from the nearest meteorological station showed that the mean maximum temperature of the ‘Ntoulia 1’ and ‘Ntoulia 2’ Cornelian experimental area is 40 C in July and 8 Cin January, whereas the mean minimum tem- Cherries (Cornus mas L.) perature in January is –9 C. The objective of 1 this research was to give information about Thomas Sotiropoulos the new Greek cornelian cherry cultivars Pomology Institute (N.AG.RE.F.) R.R. Station 38, Naoussa, 59200, Greece Ntoulia 1 and Ntoulia 2 and to compare them in terms of fruit quality with the selected Antonios Petridis clones ‘Electra’ and ‘Naoussa’. Laboratory of Pomology, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece Description Nikolaos Koutinas Plant vigor of the cultivars Ntoulia 1 and Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Department Ntoulia 2 is weak and growth habit is erect. of Crop Production. P.O. Box 141, 57400, Thessaloniki, Greece Attitude of shoots of the cultivar Ntoulia 1 is erect, whereas that of the cultivar Ntoulia 2 Ioannis Therios is semierect. The density of branches of the Laboratory of Pomology, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of cultivar Ntoulia 1 is medium, whereas that of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece the cultivar Ntoulia 2 is sparse. The color of 1-year-old shoots of the cultivar Ntoulia 1 is Additional index words. Cornus mas, cultivar description, fruit breeding, Greece purple–brown, whereas that of the cultivar Ntoulia 2 is brown. The length of internodes of both cultivars is medium. Lateral branches Cornelian cherry is a minor fruit species which was very hard, cut from the holy forest are borne from the axils of old wood (more that deserves some attention mainly as a result of the God Apollo (Willcock, 1978). The than 2 years) before the leaf buds open. The of its economic potential and environmental cornelian cherry plant was described in terms trees do not have pest and disease infections importance of its cultivation. ‘Ntoulia 1’ and of botany very early by the Greek philoso- and are presently cultivated under the organic ‘Ntoulia 2’ are two new Greek cornelian cherry pher Theophrastus (between the 3rd and 4th farming model. cultivars, whereas ‘Electra’ and ‘Naoussa’ are century B.C.) (Chatzopoulos, 1998). Corne- The leaves of ‘Ntoulia 1’ and ‘Ntoulia 2’ new selected clones. The experiment was con- lian cherries have a long history of use in a have the following dimensions: length of ducted in northern Greece for 2 consecu- variety of medicinal tonics, including those 85and65mm,widthof58and42mm,and tive years. Productivity and fruit weight of used to treat excessive urination, incontinence, leaf area of 3950 and 2184 mm2, respec- ‘Ntoulia 1’ were higher than ‘Ntoulia 2’. excessivesweating,excessivemenstrualbleed- tively. Mean pedicel length of ‘Ntoulia 1’ and ‘Electra’ showed the highest fruit weight ing, and decreased erectile function (McGuffin ‘Ntoulia 2’ is 7 and 5 mm, respectively. Leaf followed by ‘Ntoulia 1’, whereas ‘Naoussa’ et al., 1997). Several cultivars/genotypes were measurements were made with a portable leaf and ‘Ntoulia 2’ showed lower fruit weight selected worldwide for the color or size of area meter, AM 300 (ADC Bioscientific Ltd., values. ‘Ntoulia 2’ showed the highest value fruits or leaves (Dirr, 1998; Stylianidis et al., Hertfordshire, U.K.). The leaf arrangement of of total soluble solids followed by ‘Ntoulia 1’ 2011). In Greece until now, there was not both cultivars is opposite and the leaf shape is and ‘Electra’. Total titratable acidity did not systematic cultivation of cornelian cherry. ovate. The shape of the blade apex is strongly differ between genotypes. In descending However, selection from a high number of pointed, the shape of the base is rounded, and antioxidant capacity, the order was: ‘Ntoulia seedlings originated from open-pollinated the glossiness is medium for both cultivars. In 2’ > ‘Electra’ > ‘Naoussa’ > ‘Ntoulia 1’. Total autochthonous cornelian cherry plants in the petiole of both cultivars, anthocyanin is phenolics in fruits of the cultivar Ntoulia 2 northern Greece by the grower Konstantinos deposited. In the leaf blade, the pubescence were higher than ‘Ntoulia 1’ and ‘Electra’. Ntoulias resulted in the cultivars Ntoulia 1 of the lower side is along the veins. Leaf fall Nitrogen, potassium, manganese, and zinc and Ntoulia 2. After selection, the plants were occurs mid-November. concentrations of ‘Electra’ were higher than then propagated by semi-hardwood cuttings. Anthesis occurs at the end of February, the other genotypes, whereas boron concentra- ‘Electra’ was selected by the agriculturist before shoot sprouting. ‘Ntoulia 1’ and ‘Ntoulia tion was lower. However, concentrations of Konstantinos Georgiadis, whereas ‘Naoussa’ 2’ flowers are self-fertile. Flowers are nu- phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium were is natively grown in the area of Naoussa. The merous (15 for ‘Ntoulia 1’, 18 for ‘Ntoulia 2’, not different between genotypes. evaluation and the description were done 17 for ‘Electra’, and 20 for ‘Naoussa’) and over 2 consecutive years (2009 to 2010) in are borne in a subsessile umbel. Pedicels are Origin a private orchard that is located in Kipseli slender, 3 to 4 mm long, and lengthen to 6 mm Imathias (northern Greece, long. 22 12#0$ E; with matured flowers. The four petals are Cornelian cherry belongs to the order of Cornales, family Cornaceae, genus Cornus, and species Cornus mas L. Cornelian cherry Table 1. Mean fruit weight, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity, total antioxidant capacity, and total is a deciduous shrub to small tree cultivated as phenolics in fruits of the cornelian cherry cultivars Ntoulia 1 and Ntoulia 2 and the selected clones a landscape ornamental and/or as the source ‘Electra’ and ‘Naoussa’. of fruits to produce syrups and preserves Total Total antioxidant Total (Tenenbaum, 1994). Homer (8th century Total soluble titratable capacity phenolics (mg B.C.) in his epic poem Iliad refers to the Cultivar Fruit wt (g) solids (% Brix) acidity (%) (mmol AAE/g FW) GAE/g FW) zy cornelian cherry and reports that the Trojan Ntoulia 1 5.03 b 20.7 b 1.25 a 65.5 d 3.0 b horse was built from cornelian cherry wood, Ntoulia 2 2.18 c 24.0 a 1.24 a 100.8 a 5.6 a Electra 7.00 a 21.1 b 1.24 a 88.9 b 2.8 b Naoussa 2.14 c 18.2 c 1.29 a 76.1 c — zMeans of 50 fruits of 16 trees (four replications · four trees) for 2 years (2009 to 2010). Fruits were pooled Received for publication 8 Mar. 2011. Accepted from all trees. for publication 22 Apr. 2011. yMeans followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different (Duncan’s multiple 1To whom reprint requests should be addressed; range test; P < 0.05). e-mail [email protected]. AAE = L-ascorbic acid equivalents; FW = fresh weight; GAE = gallic acid equivalents.
HORTSCIENCE VOL. 46(6) JUNE 2011 955 yellow, spreading, becoming strongly reflexed lower fruit weight values (Table 1; Fig. 1A– For determining fruit nutrient concentra- with age. The four stamens alternate with the B). A recent research on 10 cornelian cherry tions, flesh analysis was carried out from petals and bear dorsifix anthers on 2–mm-long genotypes in Serbia revealed that the average samples taken at harvest. Nitrogen was deter- filaments. fruit weight ranged from 3.42 to 6.64 g (Bijelic mined by the Kjeldahl procedure; phosphorus The studied trees of the cultivars Ntoulia et al., 2010). In other research in Turkey, colorimetrically by the ammonium phosphova- 1 and Ntoulia 2 were 15 years old, trained as average fruit weight values of cornelian cherry nadomolybdate method; potassium, calcium, a typical vase shape, and planted at 4 · 4m genotypes ranged between 2.09 g and 9.17 g magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc by within and between rows. First fruiting oc- (Yilmaz et al., 2009) and 1.496 to 4.116 g atomic absorption spectrometry (Model 2380; curred 3 years after planting of the trees; (Demir and Kalyoncu, 2003). The shape of Perkin Elmer, Wellesley, MA) (Page et al., however, maximum production was reached the fruit base is pear-shaped in ‘Ntoulia 1’ 1982); and boron by the azomethine-H method the ninth year. Both cultivars mature their and ‘Electra’ and elliptic in ‘Ntoulia 2’ and (Wolf, 1974). Nitrogen, potassium, manga- fruits simultaneously and usually one pick is ‘Naoussa’. Fruit color of all studied geno- nese, and zinc concentrations of ‘Electra’ needed to harvest the whole yield. The trees types is red. were higher than the rest of the genotypes, are not sensitive to any nutrient deficiency ‘Ntoulia 2’ showed the highest value of whereas boron concentration was lower (Table according to our observations. The time of total soluble solids followed by ‘Ntoulia 1’ 2). However, concentrations of phosphorus, harvest is determined by the change of ground and ‘Electra’. Yilmaz et al. (2009) reported calcium, and magnesium were not different color to dark red. The onset of maturity for that total soluble solids content of cornelian between genotypes. Cornelian cherry is a good harvest is mid-August. Premature fruit drop is cherry genotypes were recorded between source of potassium and its concentration is very low, 1% to 2%. However, when fruits are 12.53% and 21.17%. Total titratable acidity relatively high compared with other fruits mature on the tree, this percentage may be did not differ between genotypes. In descend- (Sotiropoulos et al., unpublished data). Specif- higher when winds are blowing. Productivity ing antioxidant capacity, the order was: ‘Ntou- ically, potassium concentration of cornelian of ‘Ntoulia 1’ is higher than ‘Ntoulia 2’, 31 lia 2’ > ‘Electra’ > ‘Naoussa’ > ‘Ntoulia 1’. cherries was higher than ‘Kristalli’ pear and and 24.8 tÁha–1, respectively. The trees present Tural and Koca (2008) reported that the ‘Golden Delicious’ apple; it was in the same regular bearing from year to year. ‘Electra’ antioxidant capacity values of Turkish corne- level with that of banana, ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit, showed the highest fruit weight followed by lian cherries were between 16.21 and 94.43 and ‘Everts’ peach; and it was lower than ‘Ntoulia 1’. ‘Naoussa’ and ‘Ntoulia 2’ showed mmolÁg–1. Comparative analysis of the total ‘Bebeco’ apricot. antioxidant capacity of 62 cultivars from 17 In conclusion, ‘Ntoulia 1’ and ‘Ntoulia 2’ species revealed that the cornelian cherries are promising cornelian cherry cultivars. showed the highest value (Petridis et al., 2010). Total phenolics in fruits of the cultivar Availability Ntoulia 2 were higher than ‘Ntoulia 1’ and ‘Electra’. Other researchers reported that the ‘Ntoulia 1’ and ‘Ntoulia 2’ cornelian total phenolic contents of cornelian cherry ge- cherries were described and patented by the notypes were in the range of 26.59 to 74.83 mg European Community Plant Variety Office in gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per gram dry 2010 and are available from the Ntoulia weight basis (Yilmaz et al., 2009). Further- nursery (http://www.krano.gr; e-mail: info@ more, Gulcin et al. (2005) reported that a wide krano.gr). variation was observed in the total phenolic content in fruits of cornelian cherry (25.90 Literature Cited to 26.50 mg GAE/g dry weight basis). Total Benzie, I. and J. Strain. 1996. The ferric reducing soluble solids were measured with the Atago ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of PR-1 electronic refractometer (Atago Co. ‘antioxidant power’: The FRAP assay. Anal. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), total titratable acidity Biochem. 239:70–76. as described by Koukourikou-Petridou et al. Bijelic, S., B. Golosin, J.N. Todorovic, and S. (2007), and total phenolics as described by Cerovic. 2010. Morphological characteristics Singleton et al. (1999). Total phenolics were of best cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) expressed as equivalents GAE (gallic acid)/g genotypes selected in Serbia. Genet. Resources fresh weight. Sample extracts were analyzed Crop Evol.
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